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CDPQ assigns $600 million to Fiera Capital as part of its ambition to allocate $8 billion to Québec fund managers

CDP Logo
Québec, Funds and External Management
Montréal, 

 

  • Investment is aligned with commitment to support Québec’s financial expertise and the growth of its asset managers
  • CDPQ intends to double the amount invested with Québec fund managers by 2028

CDPQ, a global investment group, today announced that it has invested $600 million with Fiera Capital, a leading Québec asset management firm, as part of its ambition to increase the funds entrusted to Québec asset managers to $8 billion by 2028.

This investment is part of CDPQ’s commitment to support Québec’s financial expertise and to stimulate growth in the local asset management industry. Within four years, CDPQ intends on more than doubling the amounts it entrusts to Québec fund managers. This commitment is complementary to CDPQ’s global objective of reaching $100 billion in investments in Québec by 2026.

The $600 million invested with Fiera Capital will also support the firm’s international expansion and will be allocated to its Active and Strategic Fixed Income and Fiera Atlas Global Companies strategies. In addition,  CDPQ has recently made investments in the Québec Emerging Manager Program (QEMP), and the Investi and Inovia Capital funds. It also entrusted sums to Québec portfolio firms including Bastion Asset Management, Montrusco Bolton Investments and Van Berkom Global Asset Management.

“Contributing to Québec’s economic development is at the heart of CDPQ’s mission. By entrusting $600 million to Fiera Capital, a well-established and successful manager, we are benefiting from local financial expertise and supporting the growth of Québec’s asset management industry, while also contributing to the diversification and performance of our portfolio,” said Vincent Delisle, Executive Vice-President and Head of Liquid Markets at CDPQ.

“CDPQ’s renewed trust in Fiera Capital, a pillar of Québec finance, underscores our role as an investment leader. Fiera Capital stands out for its ability to offer optimized portfolio solutions, combining innovation and precision in risk and return management. Our commitment to excellence allows us to meet the diverse needs of our clients,” said Maxime Ménard, President and CEO of Fiera Capital Canada and Global Private Wealth.

ABOUT CDPQ

At CDPQ, we invest constructively to generate sustainable returns over the long term. As a global investment group managing funds for public pension and insurance plans, we work alongside our partners to build enterprises that drive performance and progress. We are active in the major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. As at December 31, 2023, CDPQ’s net assets totalled CAD 434 billion. For more information, visit cdpq.com, consult our LinkedIn or Instagram pages, or follow us on X.

CDPQ is a registered trademark owned by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and licensed for use by its subsidiaries.

ABOUT FIERA

Fiera Capital is a leading independent asset management firm with a growing global presence. Fiera Capital delivers customized and multi-asset solutions across public and private market asset classes to institutional, financial intermediary and private wealth clients across North America, Europe and key markets in Asia. Fiera Capital’s depth of expertise, diversified investment platform and commitment to delivering outstanding service are core to our mission of being at the forefront of investment management science to create sustainable wealth for clients. Fiera Capital trades under the ticker FSZ on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

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Novacap Announces Partnership with CTG

Novacap

Novacap, a leading North American private equity firm, announced today that it has entered into a partnership with Communications Tower Group I LLC (“CTG”). CTG is the third portfolio company within Novacap’s Digital Infrastructure platform.

Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, and founded in 2015, CTG is a leading developer and operator of communication tower infrastructure in the U.S.

“This partnership highlights our commitment to investing in core telecommunications assets. We take great pride in backing the CTG team in their ambitions to develop telecommunications infrastructure in the U.S.,” says Ted Mocarski, Senior Partner, Head of Digital Infrastructure at Novacap.

“We are excited and pleased to announce our partnership with Novacap. This collaboration will bolster our ongoing mission to build, own, and manage critical wireless infrastructure assets throughout the United States, while also facilitating the deployment of 5G and eventual 6G networks,” says Ricardo Loor, CEO and Co-Founder at CTG.

Choate Hall & Stewart LLP served as legal advisor to Novacap. Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP served as legal advisor to CTG.

About CTG

Founded in 2015, Communications Tower Group I LLC’s (CTG) team leverages over 120 years of combined experience in the wireless telecom industry to deliver high-value asset development. The CTG team has been involved in thousands of wireless infrastructure projects and has the ability to develop some of the most prized vertical assets in its class. For more details, please visit: https://ctowergroup.com.

About Novacap

Novacap is a leading North American private equity investor and one of Canada’s most experienced private equity firms. Founded in 1981 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs, Novacap focuses on middle market companies in four core sectors, Technologies, Industries, Financial Services and Digital Infrastructure. Novacap combines deep sector specific expertise and strategic and operational excellence to partner with entrepreneurs and management teams. Since its inception, the firm has made primary and add-on investments in more than 250 companies. Novacap has over C$8 billion of assets under management and more than 110 employees, including 65-plus investment professionals, across offices in Montreal, Toronto and New York. For more information on Novacap, please visit: https://novacap.ca.

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Checkly secures $20M to slash website downtime via code-based monitoring

Balderton

The Series B was led by Balderton, with existing investors Accel, CRV and Paul H Müller returning, and follows Checkly being named a Gartner Cool Vendor.

 

Founded in 2020, Checkly is on a mission to enable engineers to detect and resolve issues 10x faster through code-first synthetic monitoring that helps engineering teams through a code-first workflow. Checkly provides the most effective solutions for developers for proactive issue detection, before users even realize there’s a problem. In today’s 24/7 world, quick detection and resolution of issues is business critical both to prevent costly downtime and to meet customer expectations. Yet very few engineers have access to full observability and monitoring tools, and many of these tools still run in silos, managed separately from the app or API’s code. This disconnect means the average time to repair faults is more than an hour for most businesses (82%).

 

Checkly approaches monitoring and observability with a fresh perspective. Monitoring as Code means empowering developers to own the reliability of their services, APIs, and applications. This shrinks both time to resolution and the cost of observability. Some of the world’s most sophisticated software companies, like Vercel and commercetools, appreciate the significance of this shift and are valuable customers. All of us at Balderton are deeply impressed with what Hannes and the team have already achieved and are grateful to be on the journey together.

Colin HannaPartner, Balderton Capital

Proactive and purpose-built

By integrating advanced, proactive and purpose-built synthetic monitoring tools inside repositories, Checkly ensures monitoring is always in sync with the latest code changes. Engineers and developers can simulate user interactions continuously in 20+ remote locations worldwide using automated Playwright scripts, and get automatic, real-time, accurate alerts alongside detailed insights that help them turn alerts into action. This not only makes it easier for developers to track and manage everything in one place, but it helps catch issues early, without the usual delays and false positives seen with legacy tools. All while empowering the DevOps team to understand and own the monitoring of their services.

Checkly’s developer-first approach is tightly integrated, and up to 80% cheaper than legacy tools and is being used by more than 1,000 customers. Thousands of developers run 32.5M million checks on the Checkly platform each day and the platform has seen 3x growth among enterprise customers.

The monitoring and observability market is expected to grow 11.7% to $4.1bn by 2028 as downtime becomes ever more critical to businesses and Checkly has rapidly become one of the industry’s leading challengers of legacy systems, recently named a Gartner Cool Vendor 2023. This recognition followed Checkly’s Monitoring as Code being named an emerging practice in two Gartner Hype Cycles – Monitoring and Observability Hype Cycle and SRE Hype Cycle. Checkly’s co-founders CEO Hannes Lenke, Chief Evangelist Tim Nolet, and COO Timo Euteneuer have deep understanding of the software development cycle and proven experience in building companies in web monitoring and observability.

With the new funding, Checkly plans to grow its teams, expand its reach, and further develop its code-first monitoring platform to support even faster remediation. It brings Checkly’s total funding to $32.25M and will see Balderton Capital Partner, Colin Hanna join Checkly’s board of directors, bringing insights and expertise to the company’s growth.

 

 

Introducing Checkly Traces

In conjunction with the funding announcement, Checkly is unveiling its new Checkly Traces feature which will help engineers resolve issues even faster by connecting synthetics with tracing. In this way, engineers will have immediate insight into failures and will no longer need manual data correlation.

 

Today, only a fraction of engineers have access to observability and monitoring tools, many of which don’t give modern development teams the insight, speed, scale or accuracy they need. At Checkly, we bring monitoring to where Engineering teams live and work – inside their code repositories. Monitoring as Code is the best way for teams to own and automate their monitoring. With our funding news, and the announcement that we’re uniting synthetics with  Checkly Traces, we’re thrilled to be able to continue empowering engineers to detect and resolve issues faster and easier than ever before.

Hannes LenkeCEO and founder, Checkly

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SD Worx signs an agreement for the acquisition of F2A from Ardian

Ardian

Ardian, a world-leading private investment house, and SD Worx, one of the main European HR and payroll solutions providers, have reached an agreement for the sale of F2A, the leading Italian HR and payroll solutions provider controlled by Ardian since February 2016. With this transaction, SD Worx will expand its offering and geographical footprint and accelerate its growth in the European HR and payroll solutions industry. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

More than 1,200 experts of F2A support 6,000 customers across two business units: HR & payroll (c. 85% of revenues) and Finance & Accounting (c. 15% of revenues). During Ardian’s investment, F2A accelerated its development strategy by successfully closing more than 20 build-ups, expanding service offering and reaching an important position in Italy.

“We are thrilled to announce the sale of F2A to SD Worx. I congratulate Raul Mattaboni and his team for all the successful development over the last years. Ardian’s Expansion team targets resilient and high-quality businesses with experienced management teams where there is great growth potential. Through our close partnership with entrepreneurs and managers, we have successfully accompanied several mid-sized companies on their journey to becoming market leaders. Italy represents a key geography for us, where we intend to continue investing by selecting the best opportunities.” François Jerphagnon, Member of the Executive Committee, Managing Director of Ardian France & Head of Expansion

“Together with the F2A management team, we have pursued an important growth path, and we think there are still many opportunities to be seized in this space. The strong interest in F2A of an international player like SD Worx is a clear indication of the high strategic value of our asset. We wish F2A and SD Worx every success for the company’s next chapter.” Marco Molteni, Managing Director Expansion, Ardian

“Italy is the fourth largest economy in Europe, with many SMEs and midmarket employers showing strong appetite for payroll outsourcing. The complex Italian payroll landscape requires a combination of local software and expertise. I look forward to working together with Raul Mattaboni who will continue to lead the business.” Kobe Verdonck, CEO of SD Worx

“Becoming part of SD Worx is a significant milestone for F2A, recognizing the exceptional work accomplished by all our colleagues over the years. With the support of Ardian, we have become the leader in the Italian market for professional services to companies of all sizes and sectors. I am personally enthusiastic to embark on this new chapter in F2A’s history. This transition will not only enhance our professional growth but also provide our clients with even better and more diversified services, all while maintaining the human touch that has always defined us.” Raul Mattaboni, CEO of F2A

Following regulatory approvals, SD Worx will acquire 100% of the shares of F2A.

The price of the transaction will not be disclosed.

Participants

  • Ardian

    • Ardian has been advised by Mediobanca (M&A), PedersoliGattai (legal), Gitti (tax), PwC (financial) and Endava (Tech).

  • SD Worx

    • For this transaction, SD Worx has been supported by EY (financial), EY Parthenon (commercial), Linklaters (legal) and WTW (insurance).

ABOUT SD WORX

SD Worx delivers HR solutions across the entire employee lifecycle, from paying employees to attracting, employing, rewarding and developing the talent who make businesses succeed. SD Worx powers performance through four core capabilities: software, outsourcing, consultancy and data-driven insights. SD Worx is the trusted leading European provider of end-to-end HR solutions for all organisations and workers. About 90,000 small and large organisations across Europe place their trust in the company and its +75 years’ worth of experience. SD Worx calculates the salaries of approximately 5.7 million employees and ranks among the top five worldwide.

sdworx.com

ABOUT ARDIAN

Ardian is a world-leading private investment house, managing or advising $166bn of assets on behalf of more than 1,650 clients globally. Our broad expertise, spanning Private Equity, Real Assets and Credit, enables us to offer a wide range of investment opportunities and respond flexibly to our clients’ differing needs. Through Ardian Customized Solutions we create bespoke portfolios that allow institutional clients to specify the precise mix of assets they require and to gain access to funds managed by leading third-party sponsors. Private Wealth Solutions offers dedicated services and access solutions for private banks, family offices and private institutional investors worldwide. Ardian’s main shareholding group is its employees and we place great emphasis on developing its people and fostering a collaborative culture based on collective intelligence. Our 1,050+ employees, spread across 19 offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Middle East are strongly committed to the principles of Responsible Investment and are determined to make finance a force for good in society. Our goal is to deliver excellent investment performance combined with high ethical standards and social responsibility.
At Ardian we invest all of ourselves in building companies that last

ardian.com

ABOUT F2A

F2A is the leading provider of tech-enabled services in the HR and F&A sectors in Italy. By placing constant technological research at the core of its services, F2A responds flexibly to the evolving demands of its customers. F2A listens to the needs of corporate top management and offers innovative solutions and high-performance services to support clients’ growth in a market characterized by continuous change. With over 1,200 professionals, F2A serves nearly 6.000 customers, offering support tailored to their specific needs and fostering solid, long-lasting, reliable, and positive relationships.

f2a.it

Press contacts

ARDIAN

Image Building

ardian@imagebuilding.it02 89011300

SD Worx

Lewis PR Belgium Lynn Van de Velde

lynn.vandevelde@teamlewis.com

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Studio Designer Acquires Mydoma to Provide a Single Business Management Software Solution for Designers at All Stages of Growth

Serent Capital

 

Studio Designer a leading business management software platform for interior designers, announced it has acquired Ottawa, Canada-based Mydoma, a leading project management and design business platform for interior designers. Together, Studio Designer and Mydoma support nearly 20,000 interior designers across the United States and Canada, creating the design industry’s #1 business management software platform for residential designers.

Studio Designer features integrated project management, time-billing, and payment solutions with a full GL accounting system. More designers, bookkeepers, and accountants leverage Studio Designer than any other solution to perform an expansive set of functions from creating the first client presentation to accounting for the final invoice. This is why Studio Designer is relied upon by more than 15,000 designers, including many of the industry’s largest and most well-regarded firms including Ken Fulk, Pembrooke & Ives, and Nate Berkus.

Mydoma’s focus on delivering exceptional solutions for lead generation, project management, and time tracking has led the company to great success, particularly with smaller firms or those that have recently formed. Studio Designer and Mydoma together will work to support design firms at every stage of their journey, from Day 1 to AD100.

“For over 30 years, Studio Designer’s mission has been to empower designers’ creativity with innovative digital solutions. Sarah and the entire Mydoma team share this mission. We look forward to working together to develop new tools that will enable designers to create beautiful work, while running successful, profitable businesses, at every stage of their design careers. We are incredibly excited to bring Mydoma into the Studio Designer family,” Keith Granet, Founder and CEO of Studio Designer.

The two companies will form one of the largest product, technology and service team dedicated exclusively to creating business management software solutions for interior designers. This will translate to greater capabilities to deliver new, innovative features to designers, and provide even greater levels of customer support and design business education opportunities. By incorporating Mydoma into Studio Designer’s expansive product and service offerings, design firms of all sizes and stages of growth will find a solution that enables them to operate at their best.

“As a former interior designer, I was inspired to create Mydoma to solve the challenges that I experienced firsthand running my own firm. Over the last ten years, we are proud to have built an industry-leading product used by thousands of designers across the US and Canada. We are thrilled to join Studio Designer, who shares our values and mission to enable designers to spend less time managing, more time designing. Our future is bright as part of the Studio Designer community,” Sarah Daniele, Founder and CEO of Mydoma.

About Studio Designer

With over 15,000 users and three decades of experience, Studio Designer is the interior design industry’s leading business management platform. Our end-to-end solution seamlessly integrates project management, design tools, client collaboration, product sourcing, and designer-specific accounting software. Studio Designer empowers interior design firms of all sizes to grow their businesses, deliver exceptional client experiences, and create beautiful, impactful work.

About Mydoma

Mydoma is the premier platform for interior designers that helps them spend less time managing and more time designing. From project management to automating accounting and everything in between, Mydoma gives interior designers the tools they need to run a successful business. In addition to its beloved platform, Mydoma provides education, events, and a safe space for its community of designers across all stages of their professional journey.

 

Serent Capital invests in growing businesses that have developed compelling solutions that address their customers’ needs. As those businesses grow and evolve, the opportunities and challenges that they face change with them. Principals at Serent Capital have firsthand experience at capturing those opportunities and navigating these difficulties through their experiences as CEOs, strategic advisors, and board members to successful growing businesses. By bringing its expertise and capital to bear, Serent seeks to help growing businesses thrive. Learn more about our portfolio companies.

Other News at Serent Capital

At Serent Capital, we work hard to create effective and longstanding growth with all our portfolio companies. Here’s what we’ve been up to recently.

Disclaimer:

This publication is for informational purposes only, and nothing contained herein constitutes an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any interest in any investment vehicle managed by Serent Capital or any company in which Serent Capital or its affiliates have invested. An offer or solicitation will be made only through a final private placement memorandum, subscription agreement and other related documents with respect to a particular investment opportunity and will be subject to the terms and conditions contained in such documents, including the qualifications necessary to become an investor. Serent Capital does not utilize its website to provide investment or other advice, and nothing contained herein constitutes a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto. Information provided reflects Serent Capital’s views as of a particular time and are subject to change without notice. You should obtain relevant and specific professional advice before making any investment decision.
Executive endorsements of Serent Capital are for illustrative purposes, designed to attract business development contacts, and should not be construed as a client or investor testimonial of Serent Capital’s investment advisory services. All such endorsements are from current or former portfolio company leadership about Serent Capital’s ability to provide services to their companies. Certain executives are also investors in Serent Capital’s investment vehicle(s), and as such, there is an inherent conflict in that those executives have an incentive to provide favorable reviews of Serent Capital’s business practices for the benefit of the investment vehicles that they hold a personal ownership interest in. Serent Capital has not, directly or indirectly, paid any compensation to such individuals for their endorsements.
Certain information on this Website may contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties and speak only as of the date on which they are made. The words “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “optimistic”, “intend”, “aim”, “will” or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Serent Capital undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Past performance is not indicative of future results; no representation is being made that any investment or transaction will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those achieved in the past, or that significant losses will be avoided.

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InfraRed Capital Partners invests in Voltan Energy

InfraRed Capital Partners

InfraRed Capital Partners (“InfraRed”) is pleased to announce, on behalf of one of its Value-add strategies, an investment in Voltan Energy (“Voltan”), a decentralised energy company based in Finland. Voltan installs and operates ground-source heat pumps in multi-dwelling units and other large buildings, with a growing presence across Finland and ambitions for international expansion. InfraRed has acquired a majority position for an undisclosed amount, with a growth equity allocation of up to €75m being made available.

 

Founded in 2020, Voltan partners with local housing associations and developers to install their Heat-as-a-Service (“HaaS”) technology, using geothermal heat pumps to provide customers with reliable, clean and cost-effective heating and cooling throughout the year, without the upfront costs of installation.

There is a growing focus on decentralised heating and cooling systems, as part of global efforts to adopt new technologies to help meet net zero targets. In Finland, with its ambition to reach net zero by 2035, the government wants to shift heating and cooling systems towards the use of non-combustion technologies such as heat pumps. Ground-source heat pumps provide a sustainable, competitive alternative to other heating sources such as district heating, which typically rely on combustion technologies.

Voltan currently operates across 10 sites in Finland, with an additional 35 contracted, and with a significant identified pipeline. This market expansion reflects the growing demand for stable and competitive energy pricing and sustainable energy. Centred on domestic expansion initially, Voltan intends to scale operations internationally to address similar needs in other European countries.

In addition to its green credentials and high growth potential, Voltan’s business model exhibits the attractive infrastructure characteristics that InfraRed focuses on, such as long-term contracted revenues linked to inflation. This investment is firmly aligned to InfraRed’s Value-add approach to invest in early stage companies with long-term growth potential, supported by strong underlying fundamentals, and with high-quality management teams.

Stephane Kofman, Head of Value-Add Funds, InfraRed Capital Partners, commented:

“Voltan has successfully established a strong initial footprint and reached a critical step from which our growth capital and expertise can help accelerate its development and ambition. There is a clear need for Voltan’s compelling and differentiated business proposition in Finland and beyond, delivering sustainable heating and cooling to those living and working in urban environments. The management team is highly motivated, with deep expertise in the sector and a clear understanding of the market opportunity. As an active asset manager, we look forward to working closely with them to add value and deliver on Voltan’s potential.”

Miikka Lemmetty, Chief Executive Officer, Voltan Energy, said:

“We are delighted to partner with InfraRed to help us meet the strong demand for competitively priced, clean energy solutions. Their team has significant experience in growing companies, and we look forward to working closely with them on the next phase of our development.”

ENDS

About InfraRed Capital Partners

InfraRed Capital Partners is an international infrastructure asset manager, with more than 160 professionals operating worldwide from offices in London, Madrid, New York, Sydney and Seoul. Over the past 25 years, InfraRed has established itself as a highly successful developer and steward of infrastructure assets that play a vital role in supporting communities. InfraRed manages US$13bn+ of equity capital [1] for investors around the globe, in listed and private funds across both core and value-add strategies.

A long-term sustainability-led mindset is integral to how InfraRed operates as it aims to achieve lasting, positive impacts and deliver on its vision of Creating Better Futures. InfraRed has been a signatory of the Principles of Responsible Investment since 2011 and has achieved the highest possible PRI rating [2] for its infrastructure business for eight consecutive assessments, having secured a 5-star rating for the 2023 period [3]. It is also a member of the Net Zero Asset Manager’s Initiative and is a TCFD supporter.

InfraRed is part of SLC Management, the institutional alternatives and traditional asset management business of Sun Life. InfraRed represents the infrastructure equity arm of SLC Management, which also incorporates BGO, a global real estate investment management adviser, and Crescent Capital, a global alternative credit investment asset manager.

[1] $13bn+ equity under management (USD) – Uses 5-year average FX as at 31st December 2023 at GBP/USD of 1.2881, EUR/USD of 1.1226, EUM is USD 13.433m.

[2] Principles for Responsible Investment (“PRI”) ratings are based on following a set of Principles, including incorporating ESG issues into investment analysis, decision-making processes and ownership policies. More information is available at https://www.unpri.org/about-the-pri

[3] In the 2023 Principles for Responsible Investment (“PRI”) assessment, InfraRed achieved a 5 star rating for the Policy Governance and Strategy and Infrastructure and a 4 star rating for the newly created Confidence Building Measures. Please find InfraRed’s report available for download on our website here: https://www.ircp.com/sustainability/

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Behind the Investment: Sensi.AI

Insight Partners

The United States is experiencing a significant increase in its elderly population — 80 million over age 65 by 2040 — and 90% of these baby boomers prefer to age at home, not in a nursing home.

Further reading: The future of aging relies on purposeful software innovation

Unfortunately, our healthcare system and social support fabric are not adequately equipped to support this shift. Caregiver burnout is expected to rise, with 42 million Americans currently caring for an elderly parent, spouse, or other individual — a number projected to grow by nearly 50% by 2040. Private payers have not kept pace with the increasing demand. The fragmented provider networks for non-medical aging-in-place services, long-term care insurance (LTCI), and Medicare Advantage have struggled to create a cohesive national network. These outdated systems result in poor visibility in care quality for those wishing to age in place.

Non-clinical home care agencies are the buttress to the dam, providing support and stability and enabling elders to safely stay home. From personalized care plans, assistance with daily activities, or companionship, non-clinical home care agencies can be a great combination of SMB resourcefulness, hard work, and patient empathy. The results? Seniors maintain independence, which means dignity and quality years of life. They also happen to stay out of hospitals at a higher rate — better for health and societal cost.

However, these agencies are not designed to scale without compromising service qualities. Supporting hourly caregivers is expensive, made even more difficult by the shortage of qualified professionals, significant regulations, fragmented communications, and data sharing with providers and payers.

If only there were technology and data science to continuously and accurately assess elders 24/7, allowing home care agencies to enhance their responsiveness while preserving consent, privacy, and dignity…

Enter Sensi.ai.

Sensi helps seniors live independently for longer, driving revenue for home care agencies, and reducing the burden on payers and providers. The company’s audio-based NLP- and LLM-based models sell into non-clinical home care agencies and monitor elderly patients at home to identify emergencies and care needs in real time, resulting in reduced hospitalizations. In addition to additional revenue streams and greater caregiver efficiency, Sensi also enables home care agency customers to drive higher senior client retention and competitive differentiation between other agencies.

Sensi’s solution comes in three parts:

  1. Hardware: Sensi’s in-home pods use audio technology to detect care anomalies. Setup is a simple plug and play, frequently taking fewer than five minutes (including the unboxing).
  2. Software: Verticalized NLP and LLM models trained on rich, clinician-labeled data process sounds to identify emergencies and care needs (falls, UTIS, cardiac events, mental distress) tailored to each patient, with high accuracy.
  3. Care Co-pilot: Sensi offers real-time alerts with a patient and workforce management platform for care agencies, helping management deploy services at the right time depending on urgency and care needs.

Sensi first came on Insight’s radar back in 2020. We recognized the company’s innovative audio offering, which was well-positioned to serve this market with its balance between accuracy and privacy. We highlighted their process in our blog in 2023, and continue to be impressed by Sensi’s growth, spearheaded by a strong management team.

Sensi’s home care agency customers are impressed, too:

  • “We want to keep clients in their home as long as possible, and with Sensi, we can act fast when things go wrong to minimize risk of hospitalization.”
  • “Sensi helps you know when your clients need you most, allowing you to best allocate caregivers across clients in a way that increases efficiencies and quality of care.”
  • “Sensi is helping us drive new business, since we can now offer Sensi to clients who do not use our caregivers before but want an extra level of assurance.”
  • Since working with Sensi, we are getting a lot more interest from nursing homes and hospitals for referrals given the technological edge Sensi provides.”

We are excited to be co-leading Sensi’s $31M Series B with Zeev Ventures!

If you’re a non-medical home care agency looking to elevate your quality of care, you can learn more about Sensi at https://www.sensi.ai and get a demo. You can also reach out directly to the Insight Team (sbarclay@insightpartners.com, alundin@insightpartners.com, smohammadzadeh@insightpartners.com).

Scott BarclayManaging DirectorMORE BY THE AUTHOR

Alexandra LundinVice PresidentMORE BY THE AUTHOR

Sahar MohammadzadehAssociateMORE BY THE AUTHOR

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ArcLight Announces Operating Focused Renewables Initiative and New Wind Investment

Arclight

News provided by

ArcLight Capital Partners 

Jul 29, 2024, 09:00 ET

  • SkyVest Renewables created with a highly experienced team and advisory board to operate and optimize renewables assets
  • Initial $500 million capital commitment for new investments and brownfield development
  • Acquisition of 160 MW operating wind farm indicative of strategy and value-add focus

BOSTON, July 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — ArcLight Capital Partners (together with its affiliates, “ArcLight“) today announced the launch of operating focused renewables investment initiative SkyVest Renewables (“SkyVest“) and concurrent acquisition of a 160 MW operating wind farm.

SkyVest, formed by ArcLight to operate and optimize acquired assets, builds on ArcLight’s deep history in renewables since 2001 and brings together an experienced and tenured team to provide transformational management and operational best practices for ArcLight’s investments in wind and solar infrastructure.

SkyVest Logo
SkyVest Logo

ArcLight is providing an initial $500 million capital commitment to the initiative, and as part of this, concurrently closing on the acquisition of a 160 MW operating wind farm located in the Midland Basin in Texas that reached commercial operations in 2020. SkyVest will leverage its internal expertise and ArcLight’s resources to drive a value-enhancing operational and commercialization strategy.

ArcLight and SkyVest will target operating utility-scale wind and solar assets in North America. Through the implementation of operational, technical, commercial, financial and redevelopment best practices, assets managed by SkyVest will have the potential to generate significant near-term cash flow while protecting against downside risk. SkyVest will also augment ArcLight’s existing dedicated in-house operations resources in asset management, data analytics, and project risk management.

“ArcLight has a deep history of investing in renewables dating back to our first fund, focused on bringing operating excellence, innovation, power expertise, and brownfield development skills to drive value and mitigate risk,” said Dan Revers, Managing Partner of ArcLight. “SkyVest augments our existing in-house capabilities to implement these value-added levers. We see a growing opportunity to capitalize on this strategy with a continued disciplined and highly selective investment approach.”

SkyVest is led by a group of experienced and tenured executives including President Michael Murphy, previously the SVP and CIO of Clearway Energy, and CFO Michael Current, previously the SVP of Finance of JERA Americas. The executive team is complemented by an accomplished team of senior advisors and board members including Mark Albenze, former CEO Global Service at Siemens-Gamesa; Tom Kiernan, former CEO of American Clean Power/AWEA; and Scott Hall, former CEO of Great River Hydro.

“I am excited to partner with ArcLight, which I view as one of the leading domestic renewable infrastructure investors,” said Mr. Murphy. “ArcLight has a multi-decade history of making renewable infrastructure investments, driven by a value-added approach and operational resources that I believe are imperative to driving value and mitigating risk in the renewables market today.”

“As the renewables sector continues to grow and mature, the operational and commercial requirements are changing, which in turn creates the opportunity to apply a value-add skill set compared to the ‘growth-at-all-cost’ orientation of the past,” said Carter Ward, Partner at ArcLight. “Similar to ArcLight’s prior operating renewable investments – including Leeward, TerraGen and Great River Hydro – we believe SkyVest has the resources required in today’s market to become one of the leading operators of wind and solar assets in the U.S.”

About ArcLight
Founded in 2001, ArcLight is a leading value added, infrastructure investment firm with strategic partnerships and investments across the power, renewables, strategic gas, battery storage, and transformative infrastructure sectors. ArcLight has a long track record of investing across the electrification infrastructure asset value chain to help support reliability, security and sustainable infrastructure. ArcLight’s team employs an operationally intensive investment approach that benefits from its dedicated in house strategic, technical, operational, and commercial specialists, as well as the firm’s ~1,900-person asset management partner. Since 2001, ArcLight’s funds have invested in infrastructure and related businesses with nearly $70 billion of total capitalization. For more information, please visit www.arclight.com.

About SkyVest
SkyVest is a strategic management team formed and owned by ArcLight to manage and operate utility-scale renewable wind and solar infrastructure. SkyVest will focus on operating wind and solar assets that, through operational, technical, commercial and brownfield development best practices and innovation, have the potential to generate near-term cash flow and mitigate risk. SkyVest also leverages ArcLight’s dedicated portfolio operations resources in asset management, data market analytics, and project risk management to help meet the growing need for renewable infrastructure, access to affordable power, reliability, and sustainability. For more information, visit www.skyvest.com.

SOURCE ArcLight Capital Partners

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Aquiline Capital Partners enters into agreement to sell Quintes to Brown & Brown

Aquiline
LONDON, July 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Aquiline Capital Partners LP (“Aquiline”), a private investment firm specializing in financial services and related technologies, has today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell Quintes Holding B.V. (“Quintes”) to Brown & Brown, Inc. (“Brown & Brown”), a leading insurance brokerage firm. The Quintes management ownership team will also be selling to Brown & Brown. The acquisition is expected to be finalized in the fourth quarter of 2024, pending customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Founded in 2012 by Gijsbert van de Nieuwegiessen, Quintes has grown into one of the largest independent insurance brokers in the Netherlands. Since receiving support from Aquiline in 2020, Quintes has expanded its geographical presence throughout the Netherlands, establishing a comprehensive network of regional hubs. This expansion has enabled nationwide client coverage and provided a platform for local mergers and acquisitions. Quintes has completed over 80 acquisitions under Aquiline’s ownership while maintaining steady organic growth, bolstered by its expansion into core areas such as pensions and health services, and the integration of its proprietary Managing General Agent (“MGA”) across its portfolio. Today, Quintes serves approximately 200,000 SME and retail customers in the Netherlands through its three main divisions: broking, MGA, and pensions.

Igno van Waesberghe, Managing Partner at Aquiline, commented: “We partnered with Quintes in 2020 with the goal of establishing a leading nationwide insurance broker in the Netherlands. Over this period, we have strengthened Quintes’ commitment to the SME market, successfully integrated numerous acquisitions, and significantly expanded its business capabilities and carrier relationships. Brown & Brown’s acquisition is a testament to the strong business we have built together. The entire Aquiline team and I have enjoyed working with Gijsbert and his team, and we wish them great success in this next chapter.”

Gijsbert van de Nieuwegiessen, Founder and CEO of Quintes, added: “The past four years working with Aquiline have been highly successful. Their support has been crucial in achieving our recent growth and current scale, positioning us for an exciting future with further expansion in partnership with Brown & Brown.”

Aquiline was advised by Evercore (financial adviser), De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek (legal adviser), Oliver Wyman (commercial diligence), KPMG (financial and operational diligence) and Deloitte (structuring).

About Aquiline Capital Partners LP

Aquiline Capital Partners LP is a private investment firm based in New York, London, Philadelphia, and Greenwich, Connecticut, that is dedicated to financial services and related technologies. The Firm has approximately $10.4 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2024.

For more information about Aquiline, its investment professionals, and its portfolio companies, visit www.aquiline.com.

About Quintes Holding B.V.

Quintes Insurance & Risk Management is a leading and fast-growing insurance & pension broker and MGA. A solid group of 700 professionals working from 18 local offices spread throughout the Netherlands. Quintes is characterized by short lines of communication, high-quality advice and putting customer interests first. A company in which initiatives are appreciated. For more information or to find an office near you, please visit: www.quintes.nl.

About Brown & Brown, Inc.

Brown & Brown, Inc. is a leading insurance brokerage firm, delivering risk management solutions to individuals and businesses since 1939. With over 16,000 teammates and 500+ locations worldwide, we are committed to providing innovative strategies to help protect what our customers value most. For more information or to find an office near you, please visit bbinsurance.com.

SOURCE Aquiline Capital Partners LP

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Platinum Equity Sells BluRoc to Mollitiam Holdings

Platinum

Divesture marks final exit of Platinum’s Yak Access Investment

LOS ANGELES  (July 29, 2024) – Platinum Equity announced today the sale of BluRoc LLC to Mollitiam Holdings. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Northampton, Massachusetts, BluRoc is a provider of temporary and permanent access roads, midstream projects, renewable infrastructure, access matting, environmental controls, land clearing and bridge installation services.

BluRoc was previously owned by Yak Access, which Platinum Equity sold in March to United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) for approximately $1.1 billion in cash.

“We are grateful to the BluRoc team for their commitment to delivering superior access solutions to customers across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and beyond. BluRoc was a valuable contributor to our Yak investment and is well positioned for continued success under new ownership. We are proud of the work we did over the past six years and the value we created while navigating challenges posed by Covid-19 and fluctuations in the oil and gas market. Ultimately Yak and BluRoc emerged stronger, more capable and resilient businesses ready for the next chapter.”

Jacob Kotzubei and Matthew Louie, Platinum Equity

“We are grateful to the BluRoc team for their commitment to delivering superior access solutions to customers across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and beyond,” said Platinum Equity Co-President Jacob Kotzubei and Managing Director Matthew Louie in a joint statement. “BluRoc was a valuable contributor to our Yak investment and is well positioned for continued success under new ownership. We are proud of the work we did over the past six years and the value we created while navigating challenges posed by Covid-19 and fluctuations in the oil and gas market. Ultimately Yak and BluRoc emerged stronger, more capable and resilient businesses ready for the next chapter.”

Jamie Moncur, President of BluRoc, expressed his gratitude: “We are deeply thankful to Platinum Equity for their unrivaled support throughout this journey. Their guidance and expertise have been invaluable. We are now equally excited about the new strength and opportunities this acquisition brings with Mollitiam Holdings. Together with the existing BluRoc leadership team, we look forward to continuing our tradition of excellence and driving further innovation in access solutions.”

Platinum Equity acquired a controlling stake in Yak in 2018 from Jones Companies and Beasley Forest Products.

Palm Tree served as financial advisor and Morgan Lewis provided legal counsel to Platinum Equity on the sale of BluRoc.

About Platinum Equity

Founded in 1995 by Tom Gores, Platinum Equity is a global investment firm with more than $48 billion of assets under management and a portfolio of approximately 50 operating companies that serve customers around the world. Platinum Equity specializes in mergers, acquisitions and operations – a trademarked strategy it calls M&A&O® – acquiring and operating companies in a broad range of business markets, including manufacturing, distribution, transportation and logistics, equipment rental, metals services, media and entertainment, technology, telecommunications and other industries. Over the past 28 years Platinum Equity has completed more than 450 acquisitions.

About BLUROC

In 2017, BLUROC was acquired by YAK ACCESS to provide access road and clearing services in the North East. BLUROC is a single-source access solution for even the most challenging terrain. In addition to building mat roads, BLUROC builds permanent and temporary access roads for power line construction, installs bridges, and provides land clearing services for all industries. Regardless of industry or location, we create roadways, bridges and various out of the box infrastructures to allow customers to successfully reach and complete their jobs.

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